Singapore's ArtScience museum takes you Into the Wild with their augmented reality exhibit

From 11th February, a trip to the ArtScience Museum could also mean a visit to a virtual rainforest as their latest exhibit – Into the Wild - takes you on an adventure that starts on Basement 2 and takes you up to the fourth level as you progress through the exhibit.

Your vehicle of discovery will be the Tango-poweredLenovo Phab 2 Pro, which uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 652 processor to do the necessary calculations to accurately project the virtual environment around you. As you can see in the image above, an entire forest sprouts out, above, below and around you as you use the handset as your viewfinder to discover what's around you.

View photos

The virtual rainforest spans everywhere you look - through the Phab 2 Pro that is.

Several animals will pop up along the way, and you’ll get prompts to find out more about them as you go. You’ll have a chance to free a trapped mouse deer, get up close to a pair of Malaysian Tapirs, and even come face to face with a Sumatran tiger!

The exhibition ends with a short film directed by Brian Gothong Tan, which brings you out of the interactive world back to the real one. Six monitors at the back of the room also bring you added information about the forests of South East Asia, and the animals that inhabit them, adding to the educational element.

View photos

Come face to face with a tiger in this exhibition.

View photos

A separate screen with information about the animals pops up after you find them, adding an educational element.

When you complete the virtual adventure and plant your virtual tree, you’ll also be given the option of contributing towards planting a real one by making a monetary pledge to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). Contributions start from S$38 (one tree) and go up to S$988 (plants 26 trees). Not only will you get to name the tree, but WWF will also send you updates and pictures of it with time.

View photos

Plant a virtual tree and take the chance to make a donation towards planting real ones.

Having had the chance to go through the exhibition ourselves, we must say that it truly is an immersive experience that will let you see the museum with new eyes. The addition of sound effects help to add a sense of realism, while the implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) with the Phab 2 Pro certainly increases your sense of "being" in a space.

Thanks to the accuracy of the sensors on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652, every element stays in the exact same space when you walk around or look around. It’s certainly a world you can explore to your heart’s content. Into the Wild exhibit starts from 11th February at the ArtScience Museum, and is a free permanent exhibition. Check it out when it opens!